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Post by tony on Mar 14, 2023 9:32:36 GMT
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Post by spacejammer on Mar 14, 2023 9:44:45 GMT
Looks nice, will be sad to see Newcastle lose the Team GB matches but we've had a great run and probably could have a few more games until someone else gets a new stadium.
Although given the amount of Basketball purpose stadiums now in the UK.
It's a pity we don't have more teams playing in Europe or look to host a Fiba event such as Eurobasket or NBA UK.
However I hope stadiums will grow the fanbases of all teams in inspiring the next generation and maybe encourage more franchises to be born.
I suppose if all teams can get away from playing in glorified sports halls then it would be a better image for the game.
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jt
Sixth Man
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Post by jt on Mar 14, 2023 11:13:48 GMT
This is great news, what a statement of intent from the new owners!
I wonder how moving to East Kilbride will impact potential fans as it seems a bit further out than the Emirates
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Post by spacejammer on Mar 14, 2023 12:10:12 GMT
To be honest thinking about it now I'm wondering why London don't have any plans to build their own stadium or buy out the rights to CopperBox?
Clearly they have more money then anyone else it.
If 777 wanted to show even more seriousness in commiting to the Lions then it would make sense to build the team their own home?
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Post by D44 on Mar 14, 2023 13:25:44 GMT
Knew about it already from listening to the new owner being interviewed on Gladcast Podcast a couple of weeks (great interview and well worth a listen if anyone is interested and can put up with the hideous background noise throughout).
A few flaws in the owners plan in my opinion but it certainly shows ambition. Let's hope the new stadium is the start of something great for Scottish basketball. There's certainly historic precedence for that level of interest going back to the Murray International days (although you could say the same thing about many places)
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Post by erj14 on Mar 14, 2023 15:08:09 GMT
Great to have another new arena, I'll be interested to see how they go about filling it though. Their crowds looks sparse at their current, much smaller home, which is actually IN Glasgow. Their ownership have certainly jumped in with 2 feet.
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Post by D44 on Mar 14, 2023 18:19:08 GMT
To be honest thinking about it now I'm wondering why London don't have any plans to build their own stadium or buy out the rights to CopperBox? Clearly they have more money then anyone else it. If 777 wanted to show even more seriousness in commiting to the Lions then it would make sense to build the team their own home? Building in London is extremely difficult and expensive. Would be hard to justify building a new facility when the Copperbox (and other venues) already exist. I think (from my limited experience with development in that part of London) the Olympic Development Legacy Corporation is its own separate origination and would not be permitted to sell to 777. This is part of the planning stipulation that the Olympics provide wider benefit to the community once it was finished. Although bung the right people a few quid I'm sure anything is possible |
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Post by almachizzit on Mar 14, 2023 19:11:09 GMT
This is great news, what a statement of intent from the new owners! I wonder how moving to East Kilbride will impact potential fans as it seems a bit further out than the Emirates I can’t see me ever going to a game in East Kilbride. It just always seemed a pain to get to and I don’t fancy trying to make my way back into Glasgow after a few cheeky vodkas during the game. |
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Post by dexter on Mar 14, 2023 20:19:18 GMT
I didn’t realise Glasgow is losing its BBL team, following Edinburgh losing its WBBL team. I can see some sense in it. Caledonia Gladiators will be East Kilbride’s only professional sports team. They won’t be competing with other sports teams (of which Glasgow has many) for sports fans. This is really good for the town. It does potentially create a gap in the market for a basketball team in Glasgow, and maybe one in Edinburgh.
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Post by erj14 on Mar 14, 2023 20:54:19 GMT
I didn’t realise Glasgow is losing its BBL team, following Edinburgh losing its WBBL team. I can see some sense in it. Caledonia Gladiators will be East Kilbride’s only professional sports team. They won’t be competing with other sports teams (of which Glasgow has many) for sports fans. This is really good for the town. It does potentially create a gap in the market for a basketball team in Glasgow, and maybe one in Edinburgh. Having a quick look at Google Maps I'm quite surprised they've committed to this in the way they have. It's properly out of the way, and it'll be interesting to see how much of their existing fanbase make the journey with them. Or they might have to grow a whole new fanbase. It could be hard to build a community program (I'm thinking Central Venue League) if parts of Glasgow take a while to get there. Parents might not fancy an hours trip to take their kids to play sport. |
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Post by dandayr on Mar 15, 2023 0:34:53 GMT
not sure how to do a multi-quote so will just comment in order of some folks posts.
The GB comment article says was an aspiration - given how poorly the last 2 GB games in Glasgow were supported, I don't think Newcastle has anything to worry about with regards hosting games in short or medium term.
East Kilbride is only further out depending where you live - I am 37miles to the current court but only 36miles to the new one.
The Franchise has played in three locations in its time on the west: Braehead Arena, Kelvin Hall, Emirates Arena.
EK is only just further from centre of Glasgow than Braehead was, so not much different in its relationship to the city from when the Rocks first migrated from the East to the West. In fact the Braehead Arena and Playsport Arena have a lot in common - both are a public transport nightmare to get to from most areas, so like the Emirates majority of fans will be getting there under their own transport steam.
EK actually does have a professional sports team - their football team plays in tier 5 of the Scottish pyramid (Lowland League). This is the league above the one that Darvel play in who knocked Aberdeen out the cup.
However the Glads wont be basing their future on being an EK fan base team - the town in Scottish terms is big but it is still only around the 75k population. The fanbase catchment will remain same as it is for current venue - anyone within a 1hr drive which is more than half the scottish population.
Was surprised to hear the plan is move in the summer - if folk think the current venue is a parking challenge! That even for the smaller initial capacity.
Plans I heard a while back was build new car parking for when they fit out the existing buildings into the arena - but the planning doesn't mention about build new car parking which is a surprise for the larger capacity.
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Post by ScottishBasketballFan on Mar 15, 2023 8:38:40 GMT
I don't see the point in building a 6000 venue when they hardly fill the Sports Hall.
It's £20m that would have been better used on the team and staying in Glasgow, this Roman vanity project is bound to end in tears.
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Post by erj14 on Mar 15, 2023 9:56:06 GMT
not sure how to do a multi-quote so will just comment in order of some folks posts. The GB comment article says was an aspiration - given how poorly the last 2 GB games in Glasgow were supported, I don't think Newcastle has anything to worry about with regards hosting games in short or medium term. East Kilbride is only further out depending where you live - I am 37miles to the current court but only 36miles to the new one. The Franchise has played in three locations in its time on the west: Braehead Arena, Kelvin Hall, Emirates Arena. EK is only just further from centre of Glasgow than Braehead was, so not much different in its relationship to the city from when the Rocks first migrated from the East to the West. In fact the Braehead Arena and Playsport Arena have a lot in common - both are a public transport nightmare to get to from most areas, so like the Emirates majority of fans will be getting there under their own transport steam. EK actually does have a professional sports team - their football team plays in tier 5 of the Scottish pyramid (Lowland League). This is the league above the one that Darvel play in who knocked Aberdeen out the cup. However the Glads wont be basing their future on being an EK fan base team - the town in Scottish terms is big but it is still only around the 75k population. The fanbase catchment will remain same as it is for current venue - anyone within a 1hr drive which is more than half the scottish population. Was surprised to hear the plan is move in the summer - if folk think the current venue is a parking challenge! That even for the smaller initial capacity. Plans I heard a while back was build new car parking for when they fit out the existing buildings into the arena - but the planning doesn't mention about build new car parking which is a surprise for the larger capacity. Thanks for the info, good to hear from a more local perspective. My fears are mainly based on how well our venue in Newcastle serves all areas, not only for game nights but for CVL as well. Because it's so central, it serves all areas pretty well. I'd imagine most kids that play have less than a half hour journey to get there for their games at the weekend. If you live in North or West Glasgow I'd imagine it's be a bit of a nightmare. I listened to the new owners interview on Gladcast and didn't really buy what he said about having access to a large percentage of Scotland's population. I just can't see a word where people are travelling in any real number from Edinburgh, Perth, Dundee etc. Hope I'm wrong though. Especially with seemingly poor public transport links. |
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Post by erj14 on Mar 15, 2023 10:14:28 GMT
I don't see the point in building a 6000 venue when they hardly fill the Sports Hall. It's £20m that would have been better used on the team and staying in Glasgow, this Roman vanity project is bound to end in tears. That's kinda my thoughts as well. Why not pay for a better location and go with a slightly less ambitious Arena in a more sustainable location. I get that having 'the best arena in Europe' is a good thing, but is it really needed at this time? It could become a bit of a white elephant if all those seats are utilised. Don't mean to shit on it, as it's obviously amazing for the club. But it does seem a bit 'vanity project' as you say. |
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Post by baldeagle on Mar 15, 2023 10:53:58 GMT
I bet Newcastle Eagles wish they had 6000 seats. I have been more than pleasantly surprised at how they have managed to fill the arena consistently this season despite not having a winning team on court, whilst the demand for the corporate dining and seats must have exceeded all expectations. And just to think that a few years ago I was pessimistic about losing support when the club moved to the arena - and that was before the pandemic. Shows my ignorance!
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Post by LTfan on Mar 15, 2023 12:26:37 GMT
To be honest thinking about it now I'm wondering why London don't have any plans to build their own stadium or buy out the rights to CopperBox? Clearly they have more money then anyone else it. If 777 wanted to show even more seriousness in commiting to the Lions then it would make sense to build the team their own home? Owning an arena in London is on a totally different scale to owning an arena anywhere else in the UK. 777 have invested a small fortune into London Lions and the BBL, but buying the Copper Box Arena (if even possible, for reasons already stated) would be on an entirely different level. Buying the struggling Crystal Palace National Sports Centre would be more realistic (but still on a different level of investment to anything to date), but the basketball facilities are within a much large complex - including a Olympic sized swimming pool, which I'd assume 777 would have no interest in. You'd also have the challenge of being in a less desirable location (although more convenient for me) for attracting crowds. In short, for now, I think 777 being a tenant of an existing venue in London just works better. Back to Caledonia, these plans look impressive. But my biggest concern is the move from Glasgow to East Kilbride... I can see difficulties attracting 6,000 people every other week to a location outside of the city. But I live right down the other end of the UK so what do I know. |
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Post by bigdunk on Mar 15, 2023 22:19:22 GMT
This is exciting news but to be honest I am not totally convinced the owner isn’t a bit Walter Mitty. Just reminds me of Gretna in football and there are several others like that. I hope I am wrong but just alarm bells ringing on several fronts. My guess is the small arena becomes the arena and the 6k never sees the light of day
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Post by stepback3 on Mar 16, 2023 8:37:51 GMT
The only place online where the negative outweighs anything. 6 miles seperate the current venue with the new one.
Im glad we have so many experts in local geography for glasgow and east kilbride from across the bbl.
Having listened to the interview he done and had a nosey at his other businesses i dont think its pie in the sky at all. Yes we have seen a lot lf false dawns in the bbl but it does seem some fans of teams don't like when others are doing well or have ambition.
Suppose it is a wait and see
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Post by LTfan on Mar 16, 2023 9:14:36 GMT
The only place online where the negative outweighs anything. 6 miles seperate the current venue with the new one. Im glad we have so many experts in local geography for glasgow and east kilbride from across the bbl. Having listened to the interview he done and had a nosey at his other businesses i dont think its pie in the sky at all. Yes we have seen a lot lf false dawns in the bbl but it does seem some fans of teams don't like when others are doing well or have ambition. Suppose it is a wait and see It's only 6 miles from the Emirates Arena to the proposed East Kilbride location? That's interesting. Like I said before, what do I know!  Totally agree with you about the general attitude of this forums sometimes... everyone complaining about the problems with British basketball, and then as soon as anyone try's to do something about it the plans are met with criticism and negativity (see anything involving 777 Partners). The only small thing I'll say in defence of that, those of us who have been following British basketball since the 90s have seen these 'best laid plans before'. But personally I try to stay positive, whilst also being realistic, and hope that this time things will work out differently. |
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Post by erj14 on Mar 16, 2023 10:38:44 GMT
The only place online where the negative outweighs anything. 6 miles seperate the current venue with the new one. Im glad we have so many experts in local geography for glasgow and east kilbride from across the bbl. Having listened to the interview he done and had a nosey at his other businesses i dont think its pie in the sky at all. Yes we have seen a lot lf false dawns in the bbl but it does seem some fans of teams don't like when others are doing well or have ambition. Suppose it is a wait and see I'm sure it'll work out, but it's never as straight forward as 'we have a 6k facility, it'll be full every other week', it'll take a lot of hard work but I'm sure they'll get there. That ownership group (couple!?) seem to know what they're doing and have the sport's best interests at heart. |
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